Wednesday, 6 April 2016

International Fine Dining at Olivier Avenida, Lisbon.

We were only in Lisbon for around 30 hours, which meant we only had one dinner there. It got to around 7pm and we still weren't really sure what we fancied to eat or where we wanted to go, so we asked our hotel concierge for the best place to go for a good atmosphere, and an excellent selection of different dishes. He asked us a few questions about what we were after, then recommended Olivier Avenida. We had a quick look on the internet and it had great reviews, so off we went. Despite very slow service, the food really was incredible...

It took a while for our taxi driver to find as it's quite hidden and away from the main street within the Tivoli Jardim Hotel. Eventually we found it and instantly we knew it was the perfect choice for us. As two women in our early twenties (not for much longer though...I'm 25 in two weeks *sob*), we wanted somewhere glamorous and cosmopolitan, and Olivier Avenida did not disappoint. The restaurant was all dark sumptuous velvet banquettes and chandeliers, with dark lighting and funky music.

I wanted to start with something light, and found it super tough to choose a dish as there were so many things on the menu that I wanted! I eventually went for the Blue belly tuna sashimi (16 Euros), and it was delicious!

Catherine #2 opted for some sort of pastry thing that wasn't photogenic at all so I didn't photograph it. She loved it though and cleared her plate!

For mains I chose 200g Beef fillet and chips (26.50 + 3.50 Euros), the waitress didn't ask me how I wanted it cooked, and it arrived medium-well done, when ideally I like my steak rare or medium-rare at least. It was still very tasty though, and the skinny fries were great too.

Catherine #2 went for Linguine with parmesan and black truffle sauce (29 Euros), and again she cleared her plate, so it must have been good! Sorry the photo is super blurry, the lighting was so dark my camera was not happy.

For dessert I chose an apple and berry crumble with pear sorbet (around 8 Euros). Oh my days. It was incredible! I loved that the crumble topping had chunks of shortbread, and it was definitely one of the best crumbles I've ever had.

Catherine #2 had the chocolate fondant (around 8 Euros). She raved about it and said it was great!

We absolutely loved our meal at Olivier Avenida, even though the service was painfully slow. We were the only tourists there, everyone else seemed to be locals and business people. The other diners were all groups of friends, couples, and business diners. There weren't any children there which was nice as it made it feel a bit more special and glam. If you're looking for a brilliant fine dining restaurant in Lisbon that's sophisticated and glamorous with fantastic good, head to Olivier Avenida.